Animated rocking hobbyhorse



June 1, 1954 w. P. DWYER 2,680,020

ANIMATED ROCKING HOBBYHORSE Filed May 29, 195o 4 sheets-sheet l l o 'o \o o o o o o I x4 *L 72 4f J5 Z452 JZ L um: o o 0 o l o o o o l, um]

INVENTOR.

/4//7//9/77 f. ng/@r BY Mfm ffafwqya.

June 1, 1954 W p, DWYER 2,680,020

ANIMATED ROCKING HOBBYHORSE Filed May 29, 195o 4 sheets-Shet 2 June 1, 1954 w. P. DWYER 2,680,020

ANIMATED ROCKING HOBBYHORSE Filed May 29, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. WW2/77 uJ/fr BY f MV /ffa/weJ/J.

`lune l, 1954 w. P. DWYER 2,680,020

ANIMATED ROCKING HoBBYHoRsE Filed May 29, 195o 4 sheets-sheet 4 I N V EN TUR. #1//7//9/77 f? wyfr IgM/Mv Patented June 1, 1954 UNITED STATE OFFICE s claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in mechanical hobbyhorses, and relates particularly to improvements over the device shown in my United States Letters Patent No. 2,478,091, issued August 2, 1949.

The principal object of the present invention is the provision of a hobbyhorse of the rocking or swinging types, having movable legs adapted to be operated by the rocking or swinging of the hobbyhorse to simulate a trotting movement.

Another object is the provision of a hobbyhorse movably associated with a substantially stationary base, and operating means connecting said base to said horse whereby movement of said horse relative to said base causes the legs of the horse to move in a trotting motion, said operating means being yieldable whereby excessive motion of said horse relative to said base will not cause damage to the operating parts of said horse.

Other objects are simplicity and economy of construction, ease and eiciency of operation, durability, and safety.

With these objects in view, as well as other objects which will appear in the course of the specication, reference will be had to the drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a left side elevation of a mechanical hobbyhorse embodying the present invention, partially broken away, showing the horse rocked forwardly.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the hobbyhorse shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a right side elevation of the device as shown in Fig. l, with parts broken away.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, foreshortened section taken on line IV-IV of Fig. l, with the device in its normal or rest position.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken in line V-V of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a left side elevation of a modiiied form of the hobbyhorse with the horse swung forwardly, partially broken away.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the device shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a right side elevation of the device shown in Fig. 6, partially broken away.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged section taken on line IX-IX of Fig. 6, with the horse in its normal or rest position.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged section taken on line X-X of Fig. 6, with the horse in its normal or rest position.

Like reference numerals apply to similar parts throughout the several views, and the numeral 2 applies to a pair of parallel arcuate rockers made of wood or other suitable material, and

rigidly joined together by a crossbar 4 adjacent their forward ends, a crossbar 6 adjacent their rearward ends, a centrally disposed transverse board 8, and a plurality of intermediate boards It. Boards 8 and I8 form a floor on which a child may stand while preparing to mount the horse. A support member I2 formed of strap metal has its end portions rigidly attached respectively to crossbars 4 and 5, and curves arcuately upwardly therebetween. The body member I4 of the horse is mounted on the central portion of said support member. Said body member has the form of a dat plank cut to the outline of a horses body, though it is to be understood that other gures could be used without departing from the spirit of the invention. The belly portion of said body7 member is rigidly attached to support member i2 by means of screws I6 or other suitable means.

The body is provided with a head I8 to which is attached reins 2Q which extend rearwardly over the top of the body member adjacent the forward end of seat or saddle member 22, which is mounted on the upper edge of the body member. A hand bar 24 is inserted transversely through the neck of the horse, and may be grasped by a child sitting on the saddle 22. The child may of course hold the reins 2G if he desires. A footrest bar 26 extends transversely beneath the body member, being mounted in a bracket 28 rigidly fixed to support member I2.

The body member is provided with front legs and 32 and rear legs 34 and 36. Each of the front legs comprises an upper or forearm portion 33 and a iower or shank portion d0 pivotally attached to the lower end of said forearm by a pivot pin 52. Each of the rear legs comprises an upper or gaskin portion t4 and a lower or shank portion it pivotally attached to the lower end of said gaskin portion by a pivot pin 48. Forearms 38 are disposed on opposite sides of body member I4, and are mounted adjacent their upper ends on a pivot pin 59 extending transversely through said body member. The rear legs are similarly attached to said body member by means of pivot pin 52. To the central portion of each shank it a link 5d is pivotally connected at their rearward ends to opposite sides of body member I4, as at 58. Similar links 6i) are pivotally connected to Shanks d of the rear legs at 62 and extend forwardly and upwardly, being pivotally connected at their forward ends to body member I4 at E4. Thus it is apparent that as the upper portions of the legs are oscillatably pivoted about pins 50 and 52, links 5t and @il will cause the legs tc flex in a realistic The legs are operated by the following mechanism. A U-shaped lever 66 is disposed to encompass the lower edge portion of body member Ul approximately midway between the front and rear legs, the parallel arms E8 and 'l0 of said lever extending upwardly at opposite sides of said body member, and the central portion l2 of said lever extending transversely beneath said body member, as best shown in Fig. 4. Said lever is pivotally attached to the body member by pivot pin lli, which extends transversely through said body member and through lever arms 68 and l0. At the left side of the horse, as shown in Fig. l, a link i8 is pivotally attached at l5 to forearm 38 of leg 32, said pivot being in radially spaced relation to pivot pin 50. Said lever extends rearwardly, and is pivotally connected at its rearward end to arm 68 of lever 66 at 80, pivot t@ being spaced below pivot 'i4 of the lever. A similar link 82 is pivoted at one end to lever arm 53 at 8d and at its opposite to gaskin it of rear leg 35 at 86. At the right side of the horse, as shown in Fig. 3, a pair of links 88 and 9@ are provided similar in function to links l and 32. Link 8S is pivoted at one end to lever arm lo at Q2, and at its opposite end to forearm 3S of leg 3b at ed. Link Sii is pivoted at one end to lever arm lll at sis, and at its opposite end to gaskin lid of rear leg 313 at 9E. It will be noted however, that the pivotal connections of links 3S and 99 to lever arm l@ are above pivot "le, while the connections of links T6 and 32 to lever arm 68 are below pivot lil. Thus as lever E@ is oscilla-ted forwardly and rearwardly relative to the body member, it will actuate links 1S, S2, 88, and Se to operate the legs as previously described, and since the connections of said links to lever E are respectively above and below pivot 'i4 at opposite sides of the horse, the legs will be caused to move in a trotting gait.

A bar lilo extends transversely between the I midpoints of rockers 2, being supported for axial oscillation by a pair of stub shafts 82 which extend axially from the ends thereof and are journalled in said rockers. Spring steel rods Hill and ille are nxed to the bar mi! at the midpoint thereof, and extend forwardly and rearwardlyr therefrom. Mounted on the free end of each of rods ilri and iS is a yieldable rubber foot E68, which engages the floor between the rockers. Said feet support the ends of said rods at a distance above the .door greater than the distance of shafts it? above the lower edge of the rockers, for a purpose described below` A spring steel rod iill is fixed at its lower end in bar iil, and extends upwardly therefrom through an enlarged hole H2 formed in board 8. At its upper end, said rod ex tends slidably and tiltably through a -hole lla formed in the central portion 'l2 of lever 68, as shown in Fig. 4.

In operation, the child sits on saddle 22 and rocks forwardly and rearwardly in the usual manner. At the same time the engagement of f `et Hit with the iloor prevents bar lill) from turning with the rockers, and retains it substantially horizontal. Thus rod il remains substantially vertical and xed, causing lever 66 to be oscillated relative to body ill as said body oscillates over the upper end of rod HG. Of course, since bar los is mounted in rockers 2, it cannot remain entirely stationary, but will move slightly upwardly and downwardly, and forwardly and rearwardly, as the horse rocks. The forward and rearward movement is allowed either by the sliding of feet H38 along the floor, or the yieldability of the feet themselves. The vertical movement of bar lot is allowed to take place without lifting either of feet H18 from the floor by the flexibility of rods Hill and |06. As the rockers move to their central position, bar |00 will be forced downwardly, flexing rods HM and IUS. As the rockers tilt forwardly or rearwardly, bar |00 will be raised, allowing rods id and ille to straighten. This provides also a means for limiting the movement of the horses legs. For example Fig. l, in which the rods toil and 06 are shown straight, represents the extreme movement of the legs. Should the horse be rocked still farther forwardly, the rearward foot 208 will be elevated above the floor, and rod Wl will be downwardly bowed. Thereafter rod Il@ will remain substantially xed relative to the body, and no further movement of the legs will occur. This prevents damage to the leg mechanism.

The modified form of the invention shown in Figs. 6 to lo shows the invention adapted for use with a hobbyhorse of the swinging type. A base H6 is rectangular in form, comprising upright standards H3 and $20 at the forward corners thereof, upright standards 22 and 12d at the rearward corners thereof, horizontal parallel side rails 28, and transverse crossbars 28 at the forward and rearward ends thereof. A U-shaped crank i3d is supported between front standards H8 and i213, the end portions thereof being coaxial and journalled respectively in said standards adjacent the upper ends thereof at 32. A similar crank i3d is journalled in rearward standards l22 and i215 at |36. A tubular spacer |39 is carried rotatively on the central or offset portion |49 of each of said cranks. A strap metal support member M2 has its end portions formed to clampingly engage spacer tubes 38, and arches upwardly therebetween. It is similar to support member i2 of the preferred form. The horse body member, legs, and leg operating means carried by said support member are identical with those of the preferred form, with the exception of the means for actuating lever 66. Said lever is operated by a telescoping member Hifi compris ing a rod HiB fixed at its upper end to central portion l2 of lever Gt by nuts MS, and a tube 50 disposed slidably on rod S46 and fixed at its lower end to a spacer sleeve B52 which is in turn oscillatably mounted on a rod 54 extending transversely between and fixed in side rails V25.

Thus as the body member is swung forwardly andL rearwardly, telescoping member IM will oscillate lever S6 to cause the leg movements described above. Also, member 144 provides for limitation of the leg movement. When the horse is swung forwardly, lever 66 will continue to turn as shown until the central portion of crank l is moving substantially parallel with telescoping rod |44. Any further forward movement of the horse will merely slide rod U56 in tube I 53' without turning lever 66, or will turn said lever very slightly in a reverse direction.

Although I have shown specific embodimentsof my invention, it is apparent that many minor changes of construction and operation could be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. A hobbyhorse comprising a base including a pair of floor engaging rockers, a horse body mounted on said base above said rockers, a plurality of legs each comprising an upper portion pivoted to said body and a lower or shank portion pivoted to said upper portion, a link pivotally interconnecting the intermediate portion of the shank of each of said legs with said body, a lever pivotally carried by said body, a link pivotally interconnecting said lever with the upper portion of each of said legs, an elongated bar extending transversely between the midpoints of said rockers and carried by said rockers for oseillatory movement on a longitudinal axis, a rod:xed at its lower end in said bar and having a sliding and. pivotal connection at its upper end with said lever, a pair of rods each having one end xed in said bar and extending respectively forwardly and rearwardly therefrom, and a iloor' engaging foot carried at the free end of each of said last named rods.

2. A hobbyhorse comprising a base including a pair of oor engaging rockers, a horse body mounted on said base above said rockers, a plurality of legs each comprising an upper portion pivoted to said body and a lower or shank portion pivoted to said upper portion, a link pivotally interconnecting the intermediate portion of the shank of each of said legs with said body, a. lever pivotally carried by said body, a link pivotally interconnecting said lever with the upper portion of each of said legs,` an elongated bar extending transversely between the midpoints of said rockers and carried by said rockers for oscillatory movement on a longitudinal axis, a rod xed at its lower end in said bar and having a sliding and. pivotal connection at its upper end with said lever, a pair of resilient rods each having one end xed in said bar and extending respectively forwardly and rearwardly therefrom, and a floor engaging foot carried at the 'free end of each of said resilient rods, said feet maintaining the free ends of said rod at an elevation above the iloor greater than the minimum elevation of the xed ends of said rods above the oor.

3. A hobbyhorse comprising a base including a.

pair of floor engaging rockers, a horse body mounted on said base above said rockers, a plu-v rality of legs each comprising an upper portion pivoted to said body and a lower or shank portion. pivoted to said upper portion, a link pivotally interconnecting the intermediate portion of the shank of each of said legs with said body, a lever pivotally carried by said body, a link pivotally interconnecting said lever with the upper p0rtion of each of said legs, an elongated bar extending transversely betwen the midpoints of said rockers and carried by said rockers for oscillatory movement on a longitudinal axis, a rod xed at its lower end in said bar and having a sliding and pivotal connection at its upper end with said lever, a pair of resilient rods each having one end xed in said bar and extending respectively forwardly and rearwardly therefrom, and a resiliently yieldable floor engaging foot carried at the free end of each of said resilient rods, said feet maintaining the free ends of said rods at an elevation above the oor greater than the minimum elevation of the xed ends of said rods above the oor.

References Cited in the flle of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,397,195 Zsarnay Nov. 15, 1921 1,498,223 Zsarnay June 17, 1924 1,512,972 Zsarnay Oct. 28, 1924 2,469,263 Fischer May 3, 1949 2,478,091 Dwyer Aug. 2, 1949 2,488,893 Barrett Nov. 22', 1949 4 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 249,799 Italy A. D. 1926 

